Electronic devices integrated with microphones have been widely used to collect voice inputs from users and implement different voice-activated functions according to the voice inputs. For example, many state-of-the-art mobile devices include a voice assistant system (e.g., Google Assistant) that is configured to use voice inputs to initiate a phone call, conduct a restaurant search, start routing on a map, create calendar events, add a post to a social network, recognize a song and complete many other tasks. Mobile devices often include display screens that allow users who provide the voice inputs to check the status of the tasks requested via the voice inputs. In some applications, an electronic device having a relatively simple structure and made at a low cost is employed to implement voice activated functions similar to those provided by mobile devices. Use of a display screen would significantly increase the cost of such electronic devices. Thus, there is a need for a simple and low-cost user interface to indicate a status of voice input processing in an electronic device that includes one or more microphones and functions as a voice interface.
In addition, voice activated functions currently implemented in mobile devices are limited to Internet-based functions that involve remote servers (e.g., a search engine, a social network server or a voice assistant server). The results of the voice activated functions are displayed on or used to control the mobile devices themselves (i.e., the mobile devices used to receive voice inputs), and do not impact other remote or local electronic devices accessible to a user. Thus, it would be helpful to enable voice activated electronic devices to act on user voice inputs to impact and/or control other remote or local electronic devices accessible to the user.
It would also be helpful to users if they could conveniently deploy a single voice-activated electronic device in different smart home and/or work environments that would benefit from voice-activated functionality.